


Tunisian Myrrh

by Ursula



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-08-31
Updated: 2001-08-31
Packaged: 2018-11-20 09:12:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11332764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ursula/pseuds/Ursula
Summary: Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived atThe Basement, which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onThe Basement's collection profile.





	Tunisian Myrrh

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Basement](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Basement), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Basement's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thebasement/profile).

 

Tunisian Myrrh by Ursula

Title: Tunisian Myrrh  
Author/pseudonym: Ursula  
Fandom: X-Files  
Pairing: Skinner-Krycek  
Rating: NC-17  
Status: Complete   
Archive: Anywhere, as a complete story. If you have a constructive critique or wish to use a portion, contact me directly.  
E-mail address for feedback: or   
Series/Sequel: Is this story part of a series: No  
Other web sites: My page at RatB, thanks to Ned & Leny: http://www.squidge.org/terma/ursula/ursula.htm  
Disclaimers: The X-Files doesn't belong to me. Chris Carter gave birth to it and Fox raised it. I'd just love to kidnap the characters and let them have a little love.  
Notes: Ned's Birthday present. Thank you and Leny again for believing me enough to give me a home and for putting up with me ever since. Thank you for all the hard work you do in the Fandom. Most of all thank you for your creative vision that paints the pictures that go from my eyes to my soul.  
And Happy Birthday from Karen Schmo, who had to drop everything to fix all my silly mistakes so I could get this up in time for your birthday.  
Time Frame: Before Requiem  
Dedicated to also to our vision of the poor suffering characters of the X-Files, to the Skinner/Krycek list and to Alex Krycek, the most inspiring character I have ever loved. 

* * *

Tunisian Myrrh

The scent of betrayal was bitter and fragrant. Walter stood staring out the window of his office, thinking, dreaming, and for once not puzzling out how he could handle the routine demands of his office on top of the insanity of the X-Files. Instead, he remembered the smell of perfumed skin, the silken sensation of soft skin...eyes, the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They looked as if he wore kohl. His lashes were so thick they shaded and darkened the extraordinary smoky green depths. When he kissed, the ends of his lashes touched your face like butterfly wings. His hands were slender for a large man and so sensitive. Walter remembered how it felt to have the chestnut hair brushing softly against his face, the long fingers splayed across his hips, thumbs resting on pulse points.

A hated voice interrupted his musing. Spender remarked, "Mr. Skinner, I have an errand for you to run. I have some property in Tunisia that needs looking into." On one hand, Mulder and Scully...and on the other, that withered throat in his hand, crushing strength finishing the smoke-scarred passages. Mulder and Scully win one more time. He loved them. Hell, yes, he did. He was a leader of men, but no one makes the sacrifices he made without caring passionately for the people involved. He loved his agents with the fierce protective fury of a chieftain for his clan. 

"What kind of property?" Walter asked, dreading some new horror, some experiment to haunt his nights.

"Valuable property that I admit to having some difficulty in managing on my own. You have a heavy hand at times, Skinner. I think you have the touch that is required in this instance. You will find tickets, passports, and an approved request for vacation time on your desk this Friday."

OoooOOOOooooO

The airports shrank as he went deeper into the Middle East, but the warnings for Americans traveling grew to compensate. Interestingly enough, Tunisia was like a sane oasis, bordered by Libya which was rated as extremely unsafe and Algeria which ought to be an Arabic word for terrorist. Tunisia represented an Islamic environment that still had heavy ties to Europe and the United States. It was very exotic yet European enough to offer Western comforts. Perhaps that was why the Consortium did so much of their dirty work here. Walter stepped out into the throng of people, as varied and multilingual as he had ever seen in any American city. He grimaced as he remembered who had sent him here and wondered which part of his soul he had to offer in trade this time.

The taxi was old that brought him to the hotel; its frame rattled and shook. The engine wheezed asthmatically. It was both a surprise and a relief to arrive at the hotel. It was an aged European-style building very attractive, decorated with aged rust colored stones and wheat colored colonnades. The staff was omnipresent, eager to serve, which was a nice contrast to what he was used to in the mid-priced hotels that were his usual fare. 

The bed was large. The color scheme was not what he was used to. Roses and teals seemed odd when you were used to the more neutral colors that American decorators used. He noticed the sybaritic air of everything but the plumbing. The water pressure was very low and the water was faintly rust in color. He thought it would be wise to rinse and brush his teeth only with bottled water. Other than that, it was almost decadently lovely and comfortable.

Waking from a brief nap, Walter groggily met a uniformed bellhop who offered him a letter on a tray. Tipping the man, Walter took the note and sat in an armchair to read. He found a large supply of local currency and the instruction to "Go shopping. Enjoy yourself. Package will be delivered tonight with instructions."

Frowning, Walter crumpled the note. He hated being treated as a lackey but, as long as the nanobytes were active, he was stuck with the occasional odd errand for Spender. The man knew better than to ask him for anything that really would have troubled Walter's rather flexible conscience. Spender and Walter were both mature men with a strongly realistic bent on life. Of course, Spender was an amoral and sadistic son of a bitch whereas Walter considered himself a man who compromised only when necessary to save his own ass or his agents. He just hoped that Spender was pushing the envelope this time. The man took a childish pleasure in being misleading and enigmatic. It was a wonder one of his employees had not shot him by now.

Shrugging, Walter decided to take the man's advice. The crowded and narrow streets thronged with beggars and peddlers. It was cleaner than some of the other Middle East cities that he had visited; but then again, cleaner was a relative term.

Walter still had a habit of walking either right in the lee of a building or close to the curb. In Vietnam, some of the locals emptied their slop buckets right into the street from upper story windows. 

The marketplace was almost overwhelming, but Walter picked out gifts, silk for Dana and her mother, a wooden paperweight with incredibly complex carvings hollowing it into a maze of abstract designs. Exotic perfumes occupied an entire section. He shopped for his sisters and his mother, piling up so many of the inexpensive, but lovely scented items that he ended up hiring a porter. He went back to the hotel to drop off his purchases, had lunch, and did a little sight seeing. Hell, it was Spender's money, but his vacation time so he may as well act like a tourist.

Another courier brought a second envelope. This held medical records and pre-loaded syringes, which apparently were vitamin shots. Spender had some poor luckless bastard imprisoned here in this land where the Consortium held too many interests to be ignored. Apparently despite the ignominious imprisonment, Spender wanted his captive relatively healthy. Walter half expected some man in an iron mask to be delivered to his door. He settled down to read the record, looking for a clue to the identity but before he was half down the page, someone was knocking loudly.

Grunting porters carried in a bulky roll of carpet. As Walter curiously watched, the sweating men set the wildly patterned wool down and unraveled it on the floor. The showmanship revealed a thinly beautiful male body...totally naked. Green eyes gazed up at him and a husky voice uttered, "Oh, fuck!"

A moment later, Walter roared, "You son of a bitch!"

Pulling the man to his feet by virtue of grabbing his hair, Walter was half way to the door to throw him out before caution reasserted itself. Releasing Krycek in a bruised heap, he begrudgingly paid the impassively waiting porters and followed them out. Not much to his surprise, there were guards posted now outside his door. Walter nodded in resigned bitterness and returned to the room. Krycek had scuttled to a corner, holding the luggage stand up as a defensive weapon. 

Snorting, Walter said, "Put that down and sit quietly in the chair."

Surprisingly, Krycek had not tried for the window. He tossed his head in characteristic fashion and obeyed Walter's command. Walter carefully read the report and grimaced. From the recent blood tests, Spender intended Walter reinforce his control of the man by the most primitive methods. What made the man think that he was willing to rape for him? 

Impotent dick-wad that the man was, he couldn't even handle that himself.

"Come here, I'm supposed to give you these vitamin shots," Walter said. Padding across the room, Krycek was unconsciously seductive, his movements holding heedless grace. His eyes were adverted and his one arm tensing into a fist at his side. Walter kept him waiting while he read the directions again. It seemed simple enough. He ripped the alcohol swab open and Krycek presented his arm. "No, not there, turn around and lean on the bed."

The ass was still smooth and satiny. Walter briskly cleaned a patch of skin before jabbing in the needle and depressing the plunger. Krycek caught his breath and muttered, "Fuck" again.

Amused, Walter let his hand rest on the round curve of the cheek. Krycek tensed, glanced at him, and then let his shoulder's slump. He spread his legs submissively, leaning more of his weight into the bed. Walter felt his cock stir at the sight. Damn tempting, but...

"Relax. You can stand up," Walter said in a gentler tone than he meant to use.

Another brief glance and Krycek said, "Thank you."

Walter refused to acknowledge the gratitude or what Krycek meant by it.

He didn't want him.

Liar!

Well, he certainly didn't want to have him by force anyway. Shortly a strongly tactile memory of the touch of skin, hot, sweat-damp, smooth, and silken over firm flesh and hard muscle overwhelmed Walter. Alex had a body designed to be taken, worshiped, conquered, and tasted. Walter had that willingly and had no wish to ruin the sensual memory.

Stomach growling, Walter realized it was time for dinner. He had been undecided as the whether to call for room service; he was foot-sore from shopping and sightseeing. Now, he supposed he could go out and leave Krycek sitting in the chair to starve. However, that was petty and he wasn't a petty man.

Picking up the phone, he ordered almost randomly, not bothering to ask Krycek his preferences. Beggars can't be choosers he rationalized. Putting the phone back on the hook, Walter walked over to the man and growled, "Go take a shower. You smell like pesticide."

Getting up, Krycek said, "Well, it's better than what you would have gotten without the spray. I was crawling. You're lucky to have a shower once a month in there."

"What did you do to piss Spender off this time? You seem to have a talent for it, you know."

"I failed to kill someone he ordered killed," Alex replied.

"Mulder?" Walter asked; he'd always suspected that Krycek a yearning for his former partner.

Eyes turning away, followed by minute headshake seemed to negate his assumption without any real answers. Alex went into the bathroom, came out immediately, and said, "There's no soap."

"Take this," Walter said, reaching into the bag for a small basket of exotically scented items. He had his own toiletries, but it amused him to provide Krycek only with these exotic products.

Krycek's eyes flickered and he smirked. "I'm gonna smell good, I guess," but he took the items and went into the bathroom.

"Leave the door open," Walter said, "I want to hear what you're up to."

"What you think I'm going to flush myself down the toilet and escape?" Krycek jibed.

"Isn't the sewer your natural habitat?" Walter asked.

"You thought I was good enough to make love to at one point," Krycek shot back. He winced at his own words and corrected, "to fuck, I mean."

'Did he mean 'fuck'?' Walter mused. 

Krycek had said make love as if he had meant precisely that. Sitting back in his chair, Walter folded his arms over his chest and pondered the mysteries of Alex Krycek.

OoooOOOOooooO

He came out smelling of Myrrh, Tunisian myrrh, a fuller deeper scent than the Egyptian version. Or at least so the salesman had said. His skin was still beaded with water. His damp hair was the color of onyx; all hint of lighter brown vanished into dark radiant shades. His face glowed with the force of his absolutions, faintly rosy now beneath the marble. The towel was wrapped around his waist, a knot keeping the improvised sarong in place. Walter stood up and fingered the loose tie. Krycek made no protest, just closed his eyes, faintly moving as if swaying to some unheard music.

Walter cupped the elegant head with one hand and tilted up the delicate chin with the other. Krycek's kiss was opium, exotic, addictive, and quite possibly deadly. A faint eager sound fluttered against Walter's lips. Krycek moaned again and drew Walter's hand down to firmly press against his ass. He strained against Walter's worn denim jeans, his body still damp from the shower felt like a liquid heat through the thin tee shirt Walter wore. One leg snaked up to press Krycek's groin tighter against Walter's. The man pressed urgently forward, his hand delving for Walter's zipper.

Only the repeated knock on the door penetrated the madness. Walter stepped back, put out a restraining hand to stop Krycek from following and said, "Later, that's dinner."

"I want you," Krycek said. "Now, I need..."

"Is this about what you need then, Alex?" Walter said, letting his mouth taste the name of his lost lover. It was bittersweet on his tongue. One reproachful look and then Alex hid it all away again.

Handing Krycek his robe to put on over the towel, Walter went to the door to let the waiter in. The serving cart was loaded with trays and chafing dishes. The waiter, a small, smiling man chatted away, stealing glances at Krycek the entire time he served the meal. Walter tolerated it briefly, but scowled at him and blocked his view of the sparsely clothed man with his own formidable body.

After Walter almost pushed the waiter out the door, Alex approached the table. His lean ribs and glistening eyes betrayed that his thoughts were no longer on sex. A more basic drive had intervened. Walter quickly dashed Alex's hand away and said, "No, you don't touch this food."

An anxious look greeted this statement. Then Alex drew his bitter mask over it. He said, "Hope you never have a dog, Skinner."

"Don't walk away from me, Alex," Walter said, grabbing the sleeve of the robe. In a moment, he stripped Alex of the garment and even robbed him of the towel. Chest heaving, Krycek looked wild and passionate although he probably was only angry and frightened.

Another kiss, brutal and demanding. Krycek's mouth was red, ripe when Walter pulled away. Walter grabbed his neck and marched him to the table. He sat down and brought Krycek to his knees in front of him. "Now, that's how I like you. Do you have any idea how pretty you look like this? Scared, angry, and on your knees?"

There was no answer just a flicker of the eyes then Krycek asked, "You want me to blow you? Is that what this is? I do it and then I get some food?"

"Blowing might be on the agenda later, but not now," Walter said, "You want to be my pet, Alex? Is that what you were saying about the dog?"

"What's this?" Walter asked, picking up what looked like a fried pastry, "A dessert?"

"It's brik. It's good. There's meat inside and egg. Spicy. Tunisian food is spicy," Alex said.

"Hmm, well, let's see," Walter said, holding the golden brown substance to Alex's mouth. 

Leaning into Walter's legs, Alex opened wide and took a big bite. Egg and sauces spilled down his chin. Walter went after that, licking greedily at the now highly spiced skin. "Damn, that is good," Walter said, offering another bite. He met Alex's lips as he shared the pastry. They shared the dish in silence before moving on to the next serving, which looked a bit like an omelet with a wild mix of ingredients. 

"This one," Walter asked, waiting for Alex to finish the bite he had placed in his mouth.

"Chakchouka...that's chickpeas, eggs, peppers, onions, and garlic," Alex replied, pointed to a stew, he added, "That's Guenaoia, lamb stew with okra and peppers. It's better than it sounds."

"Smells good although I've never like okra. Wonder what we are going to taste like after eating all of these spices and peppers?" Walter asked.

"Hot, I guess," Alex said, "I can't eat very much more. I've been on bread and water for a week."

"You were a bad boy even here?" Walter asked.

"My protector got iced. I had to turn down an offer violently until I found another to my taste," Alex replied.

"You that easy that you can find two dates to your satisfaction inside a Tunisian prison? I guess I'm not very flattered."

"My protector was a huge, powerful man...an eunuch, Walter, due to a knife fight. He didn't do anything to me, just touched me. He was very gentle; I liked him. I killed the men who got him. I'm probably going to have do more with the new one, but I can't watch my back in there all the time. You did notice that I'm a little inconvenienced," Alex said, shrugging his left shoulder. He sat back on his heels and then calmly and deliberately laid his face against the inside of Walter's thigh.

After a moment, Walter couldn't but help to stroke the silken hair, massage the nape of the neck that was offered to him like a sacrifice. He lifted Alex's head with a gentle hand and said, "Have a few bites of the stew. We can save the desserts for later."

His once and future lover was so thin that even the small amount of food he'd eaten was a visible lump in his abdomen. They lay down on the bed; Alex' s ass nestled against his groin. He was silk, velvet, and satin still, a tactile feast. Walter lingered over his exploration, caressing the sharp jut of the hips, stroking the hollows of his pelvis.

Alex turned around, offering his lips again, the tang of the spices vibrant in his mouth. He was like a feast and Walter wanted to consume him utterly. Just take him inside and never let him go. However, unless he wanted a totally passive partner, he was out of luck. Alex had tucked his head into the curve of Walter's shoulder and fallen asleep, open-mouthed and even drooling a little.

Just great, Walter thought. Bad enough to have a soporific effect on young agents...now, he was serving as a soothing bedtime aperitif for double agents and former lovers. Being a practical man, Walter sighed, adjusted the man's weight to be slightly more comfortable and went to sleep.

Waking, Walter was aware of noise in the room. He watched Alex carrying the remainder of the dishes to the door, leaving only the mint sprigged dish of desserts. Alex yawned and stretched, sighed as he idly sauntered to the tousled bed. Walter kept an eye on his former lover, embarrassed that he'd let the man get up from the bed without waking him. Alex settled next to him, gently brushing Walter's face with his fingertips.

"I know you're awake," Alex said, "I'm sorry that I fell asleep. Please, I know that we don't have a lot of time. I want you. I know you think I was just using you, but I wasn't. The way things work; I don't have any choice. I can't tell you what they have over me, but it means as much to me as Mulder and Scully mean to you."

"Well, I hope it's valuable; worth the hell that you've put me through," Walter raged. He stood up and said, "I'm going to take a shower and when I come out, I'm going to fuck you."

Watching Alex's face, Walter felt a grim satisfaction as he saw the flicker of pain shadow the face before the mask came back. Let him suffer even if it hurt Walter just as much to hurt him. 

OoooOOOOooooO

The light was golden across Alex's back. He had arranged himself on his stomach, legs spread, the scarred remains of his arm hidden beneath the pillows. Condoms and a tube of lube that Walter had found in his luggage had been left lined up on the bed. Walter sat next to Alex, caressing the line of his back. His strokes gradually moved downward until his hand rested for a moment on Alex's ass. He took the lid from the lube and noted that some of it was already missing.

"Didn't trust me to get you ready? I'm not stupid. Even if I wanted to get my kicks out of hurting you, I don't enjoy bruising my dick in a dry hole," Walter remarked. 

A glint of green eye peered at him before Alex turned away again. Whispering, Walter said, "I bet Spender thought that I would do it that way, rough, hurting you, humiliating you. But I think I can give you more pain if I'm gentle, if I remind you of what it could have been like if..."

"If I let them kill us both and all the people we care about?" Alex demanded, "Is that what I should have done?"

His voice crackled with anger. Funny, you could beat the man, bloody him, and the worst you get is one of his looks, his kicked puppy looks that make no sense with what Walter knew of the man. But every once in a while, something got beneath his skin, beneath the wall he carried around him and he'd show something else, someone else, someone who felt they had a right to be listened to, and treated like any other soldier.

To hell with it. To hell with Spender and Mulder and, even with Scully, Walter knew what he wanted and how he wanted it. He slid into the bed and captured Alex in his arms, rolling over to frame him with his massive arms. 

"You are still the most beautiful man I have ever seen," Walter remarked.

A small smile flickered across Alex's lips. He said, "Crippled and scarred like this? Yeah, right."

"This isn't flawed," Walter said, nibbling on Alex's neck, traveling upwards to the tiny, precise whorl of his ear. He suckled on the tender lobe, before pausing, looking down at the beauty of the face. His lips traveled to the soft lip, brushing over the yielding mouth, teasing him until Alex reached up and pulled him down to kiss him with all the passion in his soul.

'You are doing it again, making me love you.' Walter thought. 'I must be insane to let this happen. Whom gods seek to destroy they first make mad...and I am insane, madly in love with Alex Krycek.'

The words he couldn't let himself say were whispered against his lips. Alex said, "I love you, Walter."

"Don't lie to me," Walter said, "Not about that."

"We do what we have to do, but no more than that. Please, Walter, don't do this for him. Do this for us," Alex begged.

"You're just saying that because you're afraid that I'm going to hurt you," Walter replied. He let his hand trail down to rest on Alex's cock, feeling it stir at his touch.

Making a decision, he squeezed more lube onto his fingers and slid Alex's legs up over his shoulders, propping him higher with pillows. "I want to make this last so get comfortable," he said. "God, that stuff smells good on you. I was going to give it to Scully, but I think I'll keep it for you."

Taking a quick breath as Walter wiggled a finger inside him, Alex said, "Walter, maybe if you'd cooperate, Spender would give me to you. You could..."

A hitch in Alex's breath said that Walter's questing had found the right angle. "You like that, don't you?" Walter teased gently.

"Yeah," Alex agreed, "But listen to me, Walter. All you would have to do is play the game a little easier. I don't do what they say all the time. I just make like I'm going to and slip away. Most of the time..."

"Got caught this time unless a prison in Tunisia is your idea of a good vacation," Walter chided as he pushed another finger inside. Alex was tight. He wasn't lying about whoever his protector was; he wasn't having this kind of sex at least. 

"No, you're right. I was caught, but he'll bring me back when he finds a job he thinks only I can do. Screwing with Mulder's head some more, probably," Alex replied.

A full body shudder, a wince marked Walter's slow entry. He paused to guide himself inside, ease back the tightness of Alex's hole. Both of them groaned as most of Walter's cock slid into Alex.

Alex exhaled and pushed back, relaxing to allow Walter to begin the slow thrusts, which claimed him, inflamed him, and made him surrender himself to the moment. Gasping he asked, "Why do I love this so much? Always hurts a little, but nothing else makes me feel so alive. I do love you, Walter."

At that moment, Walter had nothing to say. His entire being was focused on the pleasure of moving on top of, inside of Alex. The panting and the moans were a primitive music in his ears. He could have sworn he heard their heartbeats thundering in unison. He moved his hand in time with his thrusts, feeling the throbbing pulse of Alex's cock and then the heated flesh shuddering as Alex's eyes rolled back and he arched, hips jerking rapidly as he gave it up to his lover. Walter's eyes closed as he rapidly moved to his own completion. A ragged gasp and only the afterglow of pleasure was left. 

Removing the condom, Walter found the washcloth that Alex had used, still smelling of the myrrh. Staggered back to the bed, he cleaned them both, pulled Alex firmly to spoon against him. He kissed the back of Alex's neck, put an arm around him, and they slept.

OoooOOOOooooO

It was two days before they really went out for more than a meal before returning to the oft-ravaged bed. They went for a walk in the city, looking at some of the mosques, returning to the market although Alex wouldn't let Walter buy him anything except some sweets.

"Can't keep anything when you send me back," Alex explained.

"Let's go to our room," Walter said, frowning.

"I'm sorry. You wanted me to pretend?" Alex said, piercing Walter with his jadeite eyes.

"I don't know, but at least don't ask me for what I can't give you, Alex. I'll bend but I won't break," Walter answered.

"I'll ask you for something you can give me, Walter. Buy me oranges, Walter. I dreamed of oranges when I was in the pit," Alex said.

They spent the last night eating oranges in bed and the scent rose up around them like nectar. The sweetly acidic juices ran down Alex's chin and had to be licked and sucked from his fingers, swept with his tears from his face. The room was fragrant with the smell of citrus and spices...

They made love until there was nothing left and even then, Walter could not stop touching him, kissing him. Could not help clinging to him and holding him close, wishing that he could just give in or that tomorrow would never come.

Dawn however was as cruel the march of footsteps toward the cell of a condemned man. It spilled across the two of them, as they lay awake in the bed. Alex rose and held out his one hand. "Take a shower with me, Walter. I want to be clean for a little while when I go back, but I want to be with you every moment that I can."

"I want to be with you too," Walter said. "If I gave up my soul for anyone, Alex, it would be for you."

"I know. Forgive me? No matter what happens...I do love you and I hate hurting you. I wish I could tell you why..."

"Let's not talk about it," Walter said as he took Alex's hand.

OoooOOOOooooO

His hands explored all of Alex and with the water beating down on them, he knelt and worshipped him, taking his cock inside his mouth, swallowing him deep, not missing one moment of the glory of making that beautiful face into a mask of passion.

Alex refused to dress afterwards. They lay on the bed; Walter clothed and Alex naked until the guards came in without a knock to lay the rug back down. For a long moment, Alex clung and then he tossed his head in that defiant manner and walked like a king to lie upon the carpet.

What Walter thought he could stand was more than his heart could bear; he had to try to flail with his fists. He had to try to defeat the strong and well armed men until he realized he was going down, going out, blood streaming from his eyes from his wounded head, and Alex, unconscious now, was rolled in that rug.

One white hand trailed out for a moment until they rearranged him and then Alex was gone and the light was sucked from the room. Walter fell into darkness and pain.

Of course, when he woke, his bags were packed and his return ticket was beside him. There was never any other choice, but Tunisia would always be heaven and hell to him.

Walter always wept when he smelled Tunisian myrrh, so bitter and sweet...

Adieu, mon cher Alex.

  
Archived: May 27, 2001 


End file.
